The Village of Woodsong and Southern Village...

The Village of Woodsong and Southern Village

The Village of Woodsong and Southern Village have been designed in a manner that assures the long-term sustainability of both communities.

Through the implementation of a compact and consolidated design of the intensity of uses, these developments have maximized the density of the development that is essential to the sustainability of the community.

The diverse mix of uses that each development fosters has created a comprehensive and complimentary use of the land available to the community. These uses have been located in close proximity to one another in order to facilitate a stronger level of pedestrian movement within the development.

The two developments have provided the community with a contained and consistent form of development that provides clearly defined boundaries regarding the extent of use of the land.

A contained and consistent development has a greater potential of achieving sustainability through the ability to respond to the needs of the development without sprawling into the surrounding landscape.

The communication system for Woodsong and Southern Village has been designed to be connected and consistent throughout the development and throughout the lifespan of the community.

Both of these developments celebrate the pedestrian by providing a clear and safe pedestrian environment that is connected to every part of the community.

Each of these developments has created a unique sense of place that is centered, configured and comprehensible and celebrates the diversity of the community as well as creating a strong sense of civic pride with regards to their efforts to improve the global community.

Finally, these communities have been designed in a manner that allows for the greatest amount of flexibility so that the development can be easily re-configured in order to meet the needs of the community as it evolves over time.

The success of these communities in achieving a high level of sustainability should serve as examples of the application of smart growth design practices. In addition to smart growth, these developments have embraced the principles of New Urbanism throughout every phase of their development.

The embracing of these principles has helped each of these communities reach a level of sustainability that will help to improve the global community by shifting the ideals of consumerism to conservationism.

We are searching for some kind of harmony between two intangibles: a form which we have not yet designed and a context which we cannot properly describe.  -Christopher Alexander

Examining New Urbanism...Sustainability Scores

Critical Comparison of the Four Developments

The first portion of the critical comparison of the four developments will be to determine whether or not the implementation of the development’s design has created a community that has met all of the criteria established previously in this report.

A sustainable community should reflect the following qualities:

  

   (1) a compact and consolidated intensity of uses;

   (2) a comprehensive and complimentary diversity of uses;

   (3) a contained and consistent extent of uses;

   (4) a connected and combined system of communication;

   (5) a centered, configured and comprehensible sense of place, and

   (6) a re-configurable plan that allows for flexibility of uses.

It is through the comparison of the achievements of the developments from which a determination regarding the sustainability of the developments can be reached.

In order to facilitate a simple method for the comparison of the four developments, a chart of the qualities of sustainability has been generated.

The comparative chart will indicate whether or not the developments have met the criteria for sustainability and through this method a score can be applied to each development regarding its level of sustainability.

The scores for each development can then be compared to determine the most-sustainable community that has been described in the body of this report.

While the application of an empirical formula to the analysis of the developments was previously mentioned to be difficult, this system will allow the critical analysis of these developments to be expressed as a preliminary checklist for sustainability.

Sustainability Scores

The four developments analyzed in this report have all achieved some level of sustainability through the implementation of their progressive design strategies.

The developments that can expect a high level of sustainability are The Village of Woodsong in Shallotte, North Carolina and Southern Village in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Both of these developments successfully met all six criteria established to determine their sustainability, giving them an overall score of 6 out of 6.

Carpenter Village in Cary, North Carolina has failed to meet all of the criteria, yet with a score of 4 out of 6 the development can expect to achieve a level of sustainability that is higher than the level of sustainability that sprawl-driven neighborhoods can expect.

I’on Village in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina has failed to meet a majority of the criteria and has received a score of 2 out of 6 with regards to the level of sustainability that the community can expect.

“Most people are on the world, not in it - having no conscious sympathy or relationship to anything about them - undiffused, separate, and rigidly alone like marbles of polished stone, touching but separate.” -John Muir

Southern Village...Normative Qualities and Conclusions

Communication

The communication network that has been implemented at Southern Village was designed utilizing New Urbanist principles regarding the protection and celebration of the pedestrian environment. It is through this design that the development has achieved a connected and combined communication network.

The implementation of the design has created a clear separation of uses between pedestrian and vehicular circulation that will facilitate a higher level of inter-personal communication among the members of the community.

The celebration of the pedestrian environment is evident throughout the entire development by the presence of wide buffers between roads and walks, the utilization of street trees to provide protection from the elements, and the implementation of an extensive greenway network that allows pedestrians to access any portion of the development.

The mixed-use core also celebrates the pedestrian environment by creating active storefronts, the use of on-street parking to act as a barrier between pedestrians and traffic, and through providing a number of landscape amenities such as benches, planter seating walls and pet-stations for members of the community.

The integration of the existing public transportation system into the overall communication network enhances the sustainability of the community. The transit system allows residents to utilize alternative forms of transportation when traveling to and from the community.

The development is located approximately 1-mile from the University of North Carolina campus in the heart of Chapel Hill and the integration of the public transportation system into the community benefits the region as a whole through the reduction of dependence on the private automobile.

Sense of Place

The design of Southern Village has facilitated the creation of a unique sense of place within the overall community. This has been achieved through the creation of a centered, configured and comprehensible community that has embraced a high sense of civic pride.

The walkability of the community combined with the creation of the mixed-use cultural center has further enhanced the creation of the development’s sense of place.

A diverse mix of housing-types has helped to increase the diversity of residents who are members of the overall community and who contribute to the development’s unique sense of place.

The multiple civic uses located in the development help to foster the feeling of community and civic pride among the residents of the development.

The ability of the design of the development to facilitate a wide variety of community-oriented activities in the various open spaces and civic buildings has helped Southern Village create a truly unique sense of place that ensures the development’s sustainability.

Flexibility of Use

The development design has facilitated the carefully monitored growth of the community through the utilization of New Urbanist principles regarding smart growth.

The application of these principles to the overall design strategy has allowed the community to be re-configurable throughout the life of the community and has improved the overall sustainability of the development.

One of the main factors that contribute to the developments ability to be re-configurable is the inclusion of civic uses within the development and the integration of the existing public transportation system. These factors allow the community a level of flexibility that traditional sprawl-driven neighborhoods lack, even if these uses were easily accessible.

The proximity of the mixed-use core to these uses also contributes to the community’s ability to respond to developmental challenges that they may face over time. The mixed-use core has the potential to be re-configured in a manner that will make the civic uses and public transportation system more sustainable.

Conclusions

The design and development of Southern Village have achieved all of the qualities necessary for the creation of a sustainable community. The diverse mix of housing-types utilized to create a high level of residential density in combination with the diverse mix of uses within the community are two of the strongest elements that contribute to the community’s sustainability.

The re-configurable nature of the various uses in the development, especially the mixed-use center and the civic uses located in the community, increases the level of sustainability the development can expect to achieve.

The communication network in the development should be used as a model for the integration of multiple forms of transportation all of which encourage inter-personal communication. The open space planning and extensive greenway network add to the level of sustainability that the communication network achieves.

Southern Village has achieved a level of sustainability through the application of New Urbanist design principles that should be used as an example of smart growth and progressive planning.

The financial success of the development simply demonstrates how sustainable communities can still be profitable for developers while ensuring the protection and preservation of the global community.

We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success. -Henry David Thoreau

Southern Village...Analysis of Sustainable Qualities

Intensity of Use

The empirical data regarding the overall density of Southern Village is misleading and does not accurately reflect the developments overall density. The inclusion of civic uses such as the elementary school and the church in the development lead to a lower overall density yield of 3.8 units per acre for the 312-acre development.

The development has been able to achieve the sustainable goals of creating a compact and consolidated community through the implementation of its progressive design strategy.

The inclusion of multi-family housing options is the main contributing factor to the developments ability to achieve a higher density. In addition to the multi-family housing options, the lot sizes for the single-family homes have been greatly reduced in relation to the coverage of the residence itself.

The mixed-use core is an additional factor that leads to an inaccurate density-yield calculation. The mixed-use core features a large portion of the transportation system, parking areas, community open space and 350,000 square feet of office and retail space that causes a lower density calculation to be reached.

The mixed-use core contributes to the overall density of the community by providing housing options within the commercial center of the development.

Diversity of Use

The design of Southern Village provides for a diverse range of uses that are available to the residents of the community. Through the implementation of a diverse mix of housing-types, an integrated open space system, the development of a mixed-use core and the siting of various civic uses within the development, Southern Village achieves a comprehensive and complimentary development strategy with regards to the diversity if uses in the community.

The different uses throughout the development are sited in a manner which provides each member of the community access to the uses.

Throughout the multiple portions of the residential areas, small pocket-parks have been created to ensure that each neighborhood will have access to community open space.

The elementary school is located within the confines of the development and is easily accessible from any of the complimentary land uses situated throughout.

The greatest range of diversity in the development is achieved through the implementation of a diverse mix of housing-types. Southern Village provides affordable alternatives to single-family detached housing in the form of townhomes and apartments.

The apartments are located in close proximity to the mixed-use core as well as the elementary school. The townhomes, situated in close proximity to the mixed-use core as well, are equivalent in cost to a single-family detached home in a traditional sprawl-driven neighborhood.

The diverse mix of housing types in addition to the diverse range of land-uses throughout the development help to ensure the community’s sustainability.

Extent of Use

The location of Southern Village provides the development with natural and man-made features that help define its edges. These features allow the community to form into a contained and consistent development, thereby enhancing the overall sustainability of the community.

Existing natural areas that have been preserved or protected through the extensive open space network contain a large portion of the development.

The greenway trail network has been integrated into these natural areas and designed to have a minimal amount of impact on the environment.

The southeastern edge of the development is bounded by a major thoroughfare that is currently being re-adapted to accommodate the population growth of the area and to facilitate access to the mixed-use core of Southern Village.

Beyond the preserved natural buffers, the development is contained by existing residential neighborhoods and civic uses. The contained and consistent boundaries of the development enhance the ability of the community to sustain itself throughout the development’s lifecycle.

“The Federal Government, directly and indirectly, through the laws it writes, the programs it enacts and the regulations it issues, has contributed more than its share to the ugliness of our landscape.” -Sen. Harrison Williams (1919-2001)

Examing New Urbanism...Southern Village

Southern Village, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Development History

Southern Village is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina approximately 32-miles from the city of Raleigh. Chapel Hill is a small southern town that encompasses approximately 21 square miles and has a population of approximately 52,000 residents.

Chapel Hill is home of the main campus of the University of North Carolina and its predominant development pattern is in the form of single-family detached homes.

Bryan Properties originally developed southern Village’s residential development and the Montgomery Development Carolina Corporation developed the mixed-use core. The development covers an area of approximately 312-acres and features 1,175 residential units in the form of 550 single-family detached homes, 375 townhomes and condominiums and 250 apartments resulting in an overall density yield of 3.8 units per acre.

Within the mixed-use core, over 350,000 square feet of retail and commercial space is occupied by businesses that range from a cinema to medical offices. In addition to the mixed-use core there is a church located within the development as well as a public school.

Design Analysis

The design strategy for Southern Village employed principles of New Urbanism in its planning and implementation. The design created a mixed-use core that would be accessible via pedestrian movement from any location within the development.

The mixed-use core serves as the cultural center for the community and features a wide variety of retail shops, professional offices and civic open spaces. The main open space in the mixed-use core has a hardscaped performance space that is utilized for a variety of events and activities throughout the year.

The residential portions of the development offer a diverse range of housing-types to meet the needs of every segment of the population. The design has sited the apartments and townhomes in close proximity to the mixed-use core, as well as providing residential options in the upper floors of the buildings that comprise the core.

The single-family detached homes are sited farther from the mixed-use core and feature a wide-range of home sizes and locations. All portions of the development are linked through an extensive pedestrian circulation that utilizes greenways in addition to traditional roadside walks that course through the development.

The greenway system links the large number of pocket-parks and major open spaces that are accessible in the development. The final component of the overall design of the development is the siting of an elementary school within the boundaries of Southern Village.

The obsession with performance left no room for the development of the intuitive or spiritual impact of space and form other than the aesthetic of the machine itself. -Arthur Erickson